My Best Friend, My Lover
by LeiiYou
Summary: Haruka and Makoto are in a relationship. Rin is now the childhood best friend, Makoto is in Samezuka Swim Team. Conflict arises when issues between Rin and Makoto sour their friendship. Haruka gets caught in the crossfire, and he starts to question both his friendship with Rin and his relationship with Makoto. Will they sort it out or will the tables be turned?
1. Chapter 1

Haruka was lying back-down on his bed, his dolphin plushie pressed flush against his chest, his ear warm from continuously being pressed against his cellphone. He was listening to the person on the other line intently and staring at the white ceiling.

"You know, you guys have been going out for like what," There was a pause as Rin counted with his fingers, "three months now?"

A pause. Silence.

" _C'mon_ Haru, you gotta work with me here," The voice on the other line groaned exasperatedly, and the loud crackle of someone turning over in what could only be bed sheets rang in Haruka's ear, who winced and moved the phone a little further from his ear. After a second thought, he brought the device away from his ear and—after a few failed button presses—put the phone on loudspeaker before hovering it next to his chin. He blinked his long eyelashes slowly at the ceiling, rubbing his cold fingers against his ear in an attempt to cool it, not quite knowing what to respond after hearing what Rin had said.

Haruka, still not used to acknowledging the fact that he was dating someone, responded with a sound that was something between an affirmative grunt and a question. He tried to ignore the creeping heat that was making its way up to his cheeks.

Well it was true. He was dating Makoto.

"What have you guys done together so far?" Rin asked, his voice quipped with curiosity that he was trying not to let show through his voice. In a way, he was frustrated that he didn't know more about their relationship. Although Haruka was his best friend, he wasn't the type of person to let him in on anything secretive, and Makoto had also refused to tell him anything that he was doing with Haruka, always responding with an apologetic smile before walking away with blushed cheeks. Their relationship was all very hush-hush, and it was getting on the red haired boy's nerves.

If Rin was being honest with himself, he was also getting just a _little_ jealous of the fact that Haruka now spent most of his time with Makoto. Usually he would be the one dragging the raven-haired boy out of bed and around town—not caring if Haruka grumbled the entire way about something or another, or surprising him at home with cookies Kou had baked, or just spending simple time together discussing swimming techniques, the best swimwear and arguing over which one of them was the better swimmer—the last being the most common.

And maybe he wasn't just jealous—he was also a smidgen sad that, in some way, he had grown slightly apart from the introverted boy.

"We've done, normal stuff I guess." Haruka said, his free hand playing with the soft fabric covering his beloved dolphin.

"Define _normal._ " Rin's lip curled into a small grin.

"We usually just spend time at the mall or at my place— _nothing suggestive happened_ , okay." He blushed, and paused long enough for Rin to respond with an interested hum, knowing damn well the cherry red-head now had a full blown smirk on his face.

"Really, nothing much has happened, to be honest." He shrugged slightly to himself—and, tired of staring at the blank ceiling, he closed his eyes and enveloped his vision in darkness. Haruka steeled himself for the teasing he knew Rin was going to assault him with.

"What aren't you telling me, Haru," Rin said, in a sing-song voice. "You know, since it's been so long since we've talked," his smile faltered, and voice dipped into a somewhat sad tone. But just as quickly as it had dropped, his voice perked back up almost instantly. "You've gotta be hiding something."

Haruka was too attentive to miss it, and he felt guilt nip him in the gut.

Rin wasn't alone in realizing that they had been spending less time together. During the day, Haruka was usually caught up in swim club matters, school and Makoto—but once the sky grew darker and he was lying on his pillow trying to fall asleep, Rin would always pop up in his mind.

"Yeah, I should probably start updating you next time I see you," Haruka responded, conveying a smile through his voice. He listened for Rin's response, and when it didn't come after a few seconds, Haruka raised his eyebrow slightly.

"Rin?"

"Ah?" Rin responded, sounding somewhat distant.

"Are you busy or something?"

"Oh, no, I just—ah."

It was at the tip of Rin's tongue, he was dying to say it, but he wasn't sure what exactly was holding him back. Pride? Or was it the fear of Haruka rejecting his offer?

Haruka seemed to pick up on the hesitation of his friend across the line. He half-opened his cerulean blue eyes, unhappy at the glare the sunlight streaming in from the window was causing. He sat up, and stretched, groaning as he popped his shoulder.

"Haru-"

"You wanna come over?" Haruka said, in the breath that he let out as he relaxed his body.

Rin's heart leaped, and he sat up on his bed almost too quickly. From across the line, Rin could hear Haruka's chuckle reverberate. Not wanting to look too needy, Rin cleared his throat to regain his composure. He sucked his cheeks in in an attempt to stop his giant grin, but it bounced back the moment his lips went back to their original state.

"Yeah, sure, I guess." Rin tried to sound nonchalant, but his beam shining through was undeniable. Haruka hid behind a smile, happy.

"Come over. I'll make us dinner, okay?"

"I don't have anything to do right now, so alright. See you in a bit, Haru-chan."

The last thing Haruka heard before Rin turned the call off was the noise of Rin excitedly scrambling around his room, looking for this and that, and shouting to Nitori that he would be back late. Haruka laughed under his breath, glad to hear—but never admitting that he was—Rin calling his name so casually like he used to.

"Stop calling me –chan." He said, in a voice that was too quiet for Rin to hear.

He then clicked his phone shut, got off the bed and made his way to the kitchen.

* * *

"You not gonna hug me or something?"

"No."

"I know you missed me, Haru-chan."

"Yeah, yeah. I missed you _so much_."

Rin was really milking it, standing at Haruka's doorway, the biggest smirk on his face. Haruka stood in front of Rin, apron covering his front and a ladle in his hand, with an annoyed look misting his face.

"You gonna come in or did you just come here to torment me from the door?" Haruka grumbled, not really that irritated, and smiling ever so slightly.

"Well you were the one who asked me to come over, in case you forgot." Rin said, moving his eyebrows up and down cheekily. "At least hug your best friend that you haven't seen in weeks." Rin pouted cutely, holding his arms open.

Haruka rolled his eyes in pretense annoyance, his smile unfaltering.

"The mackerel soup is going to burn if you keep me at the door," Haruka said, very matter-of-factly, shooting Rin a look.

"I bet if I were Makoto, I wouldn't even have to _ask_ for a hug—"

Haruka proceeded to shut the door in Rin's face, and the cherry-red head had to hurriedly stick a hand out to hold the door open, laughing. Rin was stronger than Haruka was, and he managed to push the door open against Haruka's effort to close it. The ink-haired boy stumbled back a little, startled at the unexpected force, and Rin saw the very red cheeks adorning his face once he was in full view. Haruka realized the impending disaster—that was Rin's teasing—about to start, so he turned heel and walked briskly back into the kitchen, leaving Rin laughing at the front door, kicking his shoes off his feet as he let himself in.

"I'm home!"

* * *

Fall had begun, and as the nights went by, the temperature only dropped lower and lower. There was the loud rustle of dry leaves. Following that, a chilly breeze swept in through the open window and snuck down Rin's shirt, causing him to shiver. He got up to close the window, then sat back down and scooched in closer to the heated kotatsu Haruka had prepared in his living room. The delicious aroma of warm soup filled the air, and Rin could feel his empty stomach growl at him. Impatient, he got to his feet, and followed his nose to the source of the smell.

Haruka, who had been stirring a pot of soup, looked at Rin as he came into the kitchen. "Sorry for intruding, oh god- sorry!" Rin exclaimed as his arm knocked against an empty pot. It fell over, and made a loud clanging noise as it hit the ground. Haruka responded with a peaked eyebrow, watching Rin pick the pot up hastily. Rin swept away the door curtains carefully with his arm, making doubly sure to avoid any other kitchen utensils as he stepped inside, smiling sheepishly at Haruka, who offered a small amused smile. "Need any help?" Rin asked, sounding slightly apologetic.

Haruka nodded towards a chopping board lying on the counter next to him with washed radishes on it. Rin rinsed his hands in the sink, before moving next to Haruka and getting to work. The pleasant sound of bubbling soup, crisp chopping and the crackling of the stove fire filled the quiet air and made for a calming atmosphere in the kitchen.

Haruka slid his eyes to where Rin was standing, right next to him, focused intently on cutting the radishes. Rin had his rather long red hair tied behind him, and he was wearing a black sweater which sleeves he had rolled up to his elbows. The cherry-red head had his sharp teeth biting on his lower lip in concentration.

A warm feeling radiated in Haruka's chest. He had really missed his asshole of a best friend. Rin must have noticed Haruka's eyes on him, because he nudged said boy gently in the side, his eyes never moving away from the cutting board.

"I know I'm gorgeous, but it's rude to stare."

Haruka laughed, disguising it as a huff. Rin flashed him a toothy grin.

Once the radishes were all cut up and pretty, Rin dumped them into the pot of soup as per Haruka's instructions. It took another 5 agonizing minutes that felt like an eternity to a watching, hungry Rin before Haruka deemed the soup cooked and ready for serving. Rin helped to scoop rice into bowls, while Haruka bustled around, putting this and that onto plates to eat.

Finally, they were both seated at the kotatsu, a fine spread on the table. Rin's stomach growled for the millionth time, but he mustered enough self-control to keep his hands away from the food until Haruka had taken his seat across the table.

"Thank you for the food," Rin said cheerily, picking up his spoon and ladling spoonfuls of steaming soup into his mouth. The food was simple yet delicious, and Rin expressed his delight through hums and appreciative noises. Haruka smiled, helping himself to the food as well.

They ate and chatted casually, both enjoying each other's company. Any awkwardness that was initially present washed away, and Rin was soon blabbering about everything that had happened in the past few weeks. Haruka as always played the role of the listener as he sipped his green tea, focused on the conversation without adding much to it, cupping the mug in his cold hands to warm them.

"You know, we only have one more term of our school year left before we become seniors." Rin said, stopping to take a sip from his cup. Haruka's eyes lidded.

"Yeah. Time sure flies."

Rin put his cup down onto the table, and looked at Haruka, who met his gaze.

"You have any idea who's going to be captain of Iwatobi swim club next year?"

Haruka hummed in thought. "We only have a few members to date, and our school club doesn't really care about that kind of thing." He rubbed his hands against his mug. "It'll probably have to be me, though, since I'm the only senior in the club next year."

"Yeah," Rin said, grinning at the thought of Haruka ordering people around. Haruka sensed what he was thinking and gave him a disgruntled look.

"It's not that I really have a choice," Haruka mumbled, "Anyway, what about Samezuka swim team?" Haruka's heart beat a little faster at the thought of Makoto, who happened to be one of the members. He didn't let it show on his face. Rin sighed, and shrugged.

"See, this is the problem we're having now," Rin started, rubbing his hand against the back of his neck. Haruka's curiosity was piqued, and he leaned in a little closer.

"Usually the captain is chosen based on swimming skills as well as good grades and all that, and I'm not trying to brag, but—I happen to be one of the best swimmers on the team, and I'm in the first class," Rin's voice showed no sign of pride, and he continued, "But so is Makoto."

Haruka's breath hitched at the sound of his name. "So?"

"So, it's down to me or him as captain of the swim team next year," Rin fidgeted. Haruka felt realization dawn on him when he realized what Rin was trying to tell him.

"Are you guys not on good terms or something?" Haruka asked.

"I wouldn't say that," Rin said, uncertainly. "But he's definitely been avoiding me more than usual."

Memories of Rin chasing after Makoto to find out more about his relationship with Haruka flashed through his mind. That was usually the reason Makoto would avoid him, but in more recent times, the olive-haired boy simply would not be around Rin during practice or sit around him during lunch, which was peculiar since they were usually quite close. Rin had begun to explain this, but stopped when the smarter side of him decided not to say anything in order to avoid any lectures from Haruka about pestering Makoto too much. Haruka's eyes looked away from Rin's, and the ink-haired boy sighed under his breath.

"Do you want me to talk to him about it, or something?"

"Nah, I didn't bring this up so you could confront him about it."

Haruka looked puzzled. "Then why?"

Rin looked Haruka straight in the eye, and, iced to the spot, Haruka couldn't look away.

"Who do you think would make the better captain, me or Makoto?"

* * *

If you guys have read my previous story, then you'd definitely recognise this chapter haha

TO ALL NEW READERS, WELCOME! ^-^

I just felt as though this chapter (and the ones I am currently in the progress of writing) are straying away from the initial flow of the other story, so I decided to break it off and make it an entirely new story! I'll still try to write more chapters for my previous story (which is unfinished) but no promises, because I wrote that story like 5 years ago and my writing style has completely changed at this point lol

Anyway I hope you enjoy this suspense filled story that you have stumbled upon

hopefully I can finish this before I get bogged down by life orz

Have a wonderful rest of your day/night! Sending you all the love


	2. Chapter 2

"Stand, class!"

Rin Matsuoka's voice rang loud and clear in the stagnant silence of the classroom. Soon the sound of chairs being dragged across the floor, shoes moving around and whispered conversations filled the air as everyone rose to their feet. After a few seconds, Rin took a quick look around the room to make sure that everyone was up, then gave himself a small affirmative nod before turning back to face the front.

"Thank you, Mr. Takase!"

" _Thank you, Mr. Takase!"_ His classmates chorused in unison. Mr. Takase—who was a gentle, small man in his late-forties—thanked the class, gave everyone a smile and nod, gathered his books into his arms and walked out of the door. Almost immediately after his back disappeared out of sight, the school bell rang.

The entire class eased into a steady volume of laughter, chatter and noise. Everyone was busy packing their things, planning things for after-school, stretching their stiff bodies out or talking about club activities as they regrouped with their friends.

Rin, who was mentally drained from how hard he had focused, slumped back down into his chair and rubbed his face with his hands, yawning

as he dragged his hands down his cheeks. Rin closed his eyes and groaned—he could almost still _see_ arithmetic sums like they were written at the back of his eyelids. Despite being exhausted, however, the thought of swimming in a pool gave him just enough energy to move his hands, and he began stuffing his books and stationery carelessly into his bag. He was bending over to glance into his desk, just to make sure he hadn't left anything behind, when he felt a large hand grab him by the shoulder.

" _Yakisoba_ bread or ramen today?" The hand tightened into a friendly grip. Rin looked up—and magenta eyes met steel blue ones. He gave Sousuke a small toothy grin and zipped his bag up in one fluid movement.

"Weirdly, I kind of feel like having _onigiri_ today." Rin said, using two fingers to loosen the tie around his neck and popping the topmost button of his collared shirt. Out of the corner of his eye, he was unconsciously watching Makoto, who was slinging his bag over his shoulder and brushing his uniform down. Sousuke noticed Rin's shifted focus and dimming expression, and he followed his line of sight just in time to catch a glimpse of olive hair as Makoto went out of the door. He was accompanied by two other classmates, one of whom had their arm slung around Makoto's shoulder.

"You and Tachibana still not talking?"

Rin came back to his senses with a start and turned to face Sousuke, looking lightly chagrined that he had been caught staring. But Sousuke's eyes reflected nothing but concern, his voice sincere. Realizing this, Rin exhaled a breath he didn't know he was holding in, the tension melting off his shoulders a little bit. Sousuke wouldn't judge.

"I don't know," He admitted, heaving another dejected, quieter sigh. "He just seems to be acting distant lately."

"Yeah, I could tell." Sousuke looked thoughtful before he continued, "You guys fight or something?"

"Nah. I don't really want to talk about it, at least not now," Rin said dismissively, not wanting to sour his good mood by bringing it up. Thankfully, Sousuke got the hint, and didn't prod any further.

The red-head got up, sliding his chair back into his desk quietly before stuffing a hand into his pocket and placing his free hand behind his neck. Rin cocked his head to one side like a puppy and smiled at Sousuke.

"Well I mean, it doesn't matter if Makoto decides to get all prissy on me. I still have you, right?" Rin prodded Sousuke in his side, who chuckled and pushed his arm away, firmly yet gently.

"Glad you know," Sousuke gave him an easy smile.

They had just walked out of the classroom when Rin stopped abruptly in his tracks, making Sousuke—who was walking closely behind him—bump into him.

Irritation laced Sousuke's voice as he exclaimed, "Rin, what-"

"I'll race you to the canteen!" Rin suddenly announced before breaking into a run, not giving Sousuke a chance to finish talking.

The ink-haired boy blinked, watching Rin disappear around the corner. After a second passed and the information was done processing in his head, he took off with a squeak of his shoes after the red-head, cussing at Rin to "Slow down!" and "You got an early start!"

When the sound of rubber soles slapping the tiled floor grew louder and louder behind him, Rin peeped over his shoulder to better gauge the distance between them—only to be greeted by Sousuke's piercing blue eyes glaring at him, his face dark.

 _Tch. Sousuke's so goddamn fast, it's actually pissing me off._

Just by the way he was quickly gaining on Rin, Sousuke's athletism was undeniable— _also thanks to his long legs_ , Rin tried to comfort himself, turning back and going from running to sprinting in order to keep in front of Sousuke.

" _RIN!"_

At the sound of Sousuke's angry cry, Rin couldn't keep the snort that came out of his nose down, nor stem the laughter that escaped his mouth after. Behind him, Sousuke's scowl had begun to morph into a somewhat entertained expression, and he began to chuckle along. Soon enough, both the boys were out-of-breath but giggling and still running, though it was clear that it was really no longer a competition.

* * *

Five minutes later, Rin and Sousuke had somehow ended up reaching the canteen at the same time, breathless and stumbling around, bumping into each other unsteadily.

"Cheat!" Sousuke gasped out, a sweaty finger pointed in Rin's face. Rin, who was too busy panting to respond with words, could only smile at Sousuke's accusation, swatting Sousuke's offending hand away.

"It's not my fault," _pant,_ "you have a slow," _pant,_ "response time," Rin wheezed out, somehow still managing a flippant tone, ending with a rather hard nudge in Sousuke's side. Sousuke lost his balance at the force of Rin's push and almost fell to the ground, but staying upright after managing to steady himself. Rin began laughing all over again at how ridiculous Sousuke looked, gripping his sides tightly—and he was soon back to gasping for air like a fish out of water.

It took a few minutes for them to recompose themselves, and once they did, they made their way to the food counter, still chuckling from time to time and setting each other off into short fits of laughter. Sousuke and Rin strolled over to stand in front of the chilled foods section and scanned the selection of _onigiri_ that was on sale. Sousuke, who was a quick decision-maker, almost instantly reached out for a mackerel _onigiri_. Rin watched, a small glint in his eyes.

" _Saba_ , eh?"

"We don't have to compete, there's another one if you want it," Sousuke grinned, jabbing his thumb in the direction of the last _saba_ onigiri. Rin simply shook his head, continuing to peruse his choices.

"It's not that, you just—remind me of someone else I know," Rin said, breaking out into a small chuckle, like a funny joke had just come to his mind.

Sousuke felt a small zap of jealousy run through him like a bolt of electricity—and before he could stop himself, he was already asking, "Who?"

Rin shrugged. "Just a friend." He bent down slightly to peek at the lower shelves. "I've never mentioned Haru before?" Rin said, sounding genuinely surprised as he picked two _ebiko onigiri_ off the shelf with one hand and, like an afterthought, swiped up the last mackerel _onigiri_ with his other. Sousuke had been too distracted to answer, watching intently as Rin took the third _onigiri_ , the wheels in his brain turning. When Rin walked over to the counter to pay, Sousuke trailed behind him, staring at the mackerel _onigiri_ in Rin's hand, a small frown contorting his eyebrows as he puzzled over it.

 _You can't possibly eat three_ onigiri _in one sitting, Rin. So who is that for...?_

They paid for their food respectively—Rin thanking the cashier with a friendly smile like he always did. They made their way gingerly through the sea of people bustling around, trying to find an empty spot to have their meals at. Once seated, the first thing Rin did was to unzip his bag and place the mackerel _onigiri_ carefully in between his things, putting it in a safe place where he knew it wouldn't get squished. Seeing this, Sousuke's suspicions were only further confirmed—the _onigiri_ really was for someone else. He felt a wave of mixed feelings flood his chest at the thought, but not letting an ounce of it show on his face. He remained silent, pretending not to notice, his gaze lowered as he bustled around with his own things. Rin then set his bag down next to his lap, and made quick work of opening his first package of _onigiri_. He soon had a neatly wrapped rice ball in his grasp.

"- _Masu_ ," Rin muttered, before he took his first hefty bite. A childlike joy lit up his face, and he swung his legs, satisfied. Sousuke noticed and smiled to himself— _how adorable._

Rin had propped his arms up to hold his food next to his mouth, elbows on the table. He watched as Sousuke unwrapped the plastic surrounding his rice ball— _in a very slow fashion_ , Rin groaned internally—and took small nibbles off of the crispy _nori_ sheet. They made small talk, mostly about class work and homework and how warm the weather was today. Today had been a pretty uneventful day and class had been boring, so they quickly ran out of substance to add to their conversation. In the absence of something to grasp his attention, Rin's eyes began wandering, searching for something interesting to focus on.

To Rin's oblivion, a pair of sapphire-blue eyes had laid their gaze on his face, belonging to the person sitting in front of him. Sousuke briefly examined Rin's impressive-looking jawline, watching it move as the boy chewed away at his food. Sousuke indulged in the few seconds he was allowed to stare at the red-head's profile, before Rin's eyes flicked back, forcing Sousuke to avert his gaze.

 _Now's probably a good time to ask._

" _Na_ , Rin," Sousuke spoke up, catching Rin's attention, "Tell me more about your friend Haru."

Rin turned to look at Sousuke with raised eyebrows, squirreling his food in his cheeks to speak, "Well, what do you want to know?"

Sousuke set his onigiri wrapper-side down on the table and started picking grains of rice off the rice ball with his fingers. His face held no sign of jest as he spoke.

"Is she your childhood friend?"

Rin nearly spat his food out, but he managed to keep it in—and ended up choking on it instead. It took several gulps of water for the food to finally go down his throat, and once his mouth was clear, Rin was coughing in between laughs. Sousuke fussed over Rin, revising his question rapidly in his head and wondering if he had said anything wrong. Once he had calmed down, Rin cleared his throat and looked at Sousuke with shiny eyes.

" _She_? Haru isn't a _girl_ , Sousuke," Rin said in a dying chuckle, drying his eyes with the back of his hand. Sousuke looked miffed, shrugging. "Name sure makes him sound like one."

Rin straightened himself back up, resting his chin on his propped arm as he spoke. "He's a friend of mine from Iwatobi. Nanase Haruka. I think that rings a bell, right?"

" _Ah_." More than just one bell rang in Sousuke's head. Who could possibly forget the lean, black-haired boy with milky white skin, who had won first place and set a new tournament record, yet had pulled himself out of the pool and walked away without so much as glancing at the score board?

"I remember seeing you hanging with him and the rest of the Iwatobi members at _WcDonald's_ after the tournament," Sousuke said, the memories flooding back. Thinking back, he recalled another person who had also been talking to Haruka.

"Oh, Makoto knows him too?"

Rin's expression changed at the mention of Makoto's name—from neutral to pained. Sousuke caught his lower lip with his teeth, cursing himself for blurting it out without thinking. He shifted in his seat, gripping it with his hands, out of Rin's sight.

"Sorry, I didn't think- I shouldn't have-"

"No, its okay," Rin interrupted, taking another bite of his food. He chewed it at a moderate pace, silent for a few seconds before he swallowed to speak.

"They didn't know each other before that, but since then they've gotten pretty close," Rin said in a flat tone, his face shuttering. Sousuke couldn't read Rin's expression, but he _could_ tell Rin didn't have anything more to say on the matter. His eyes shifted back to the _onigiri_ on the table, picking it up in his hands.

"I see."

 _ **Riiiiiiing!**_

A pin-drop silence ensued, before the loud pandemonium of people jumping out of seats filled the canteen.

Rin and Sousuke exchanged a look.

 _Shit._

Both boys started scrambling frantically out of the cramped canteen table, Rin cursing under his breath as he was forced to spend an extra second yanking the strap of his bag free where it had snagged the corner of the table. They threw their bags around their shoulders and broke out into a run, heading to the school swimming pool. Rin had somehow managed to rip the wrapper off his second onigiri and throw the plastic haphazardly into the bin before stuffing the rice ball into his mouth, chewing as he ran.

They burst in through the door leading to the indoor swimming hall, their sprinting pace slowing to a jog before they finally stopped, bending over with their hands gripping their knees for support. Their breaths came out in loud, labored pants as they struggled to resupply oxygen to their lungs. Captain Mikoshiba grinned when he caught sight of them, and walked over, hands planted on his hips.

They straightened up to greet Mikoshiba, who pretended to be miffed at their latecoming, earning him an apology in unison from both of them. Mikoshiba responded with a good natured and louder-than-necessary laugh, checking their names off on the clipboard in his hand before he started explaining about their individual training regimens for the day, waving Nitori over to hand them papers where it was all written out.

"Rin-senpai, Yamazaki-senpai, _ohayou gozaimasu_!" The silver haired boy greeted them in his usual flustered manner, a faint blush tinting his cheeks as he politely handed them a paper each from the large stack in his arm. Sousuke responded with "Yo," and a quick nod, his eyes quickly shifting from Nitori to the schedule in his hands. Rin, on the other hand, flashed Nitori a generous smile and ruffled the boy's hair affectionately. What was initially a gentle shade of pink on Nitori's cheeks flared into a dark red as he lowered his gaze timidly, shy but happy at the playful gesture.

Rin and Sousuke spent a minute reading through the regimen on the paper.

"Butterfly is in lane one today, but I'll be swimming free—in lane six, so," Rin looked up from the paper to meet Sousuke's eyes. "I'll guess I'll see you later, Sousuke."

"Ah." Sousuke waved two fingers at Rin, who mimicked the gesture, before they split to opposite sides of the pool. Rin didn't seem to be fazed anymore, to Sousuke's relief.

 _I'll talk to him about it later._

Makoto, who had been busy stretching his arms out by the side of the pool, swiveled his head around when he heard Mikoshiba laugh—only to turn back immediately when he caught sight of vermillion hair that he _knew_ could only grow from the head of one particular person. He heard footsteps approaching, and the familiar "Yo guys!" that followed in greeting. While his teammates started flocking over to greet Rin, he stayed where he was—his back turned, pretending not to notice Rin's arrival. He felt a hook of guilt dig into his stomach, but he took a deep breath, and continued stretching, now working on his legs. Makoto caught sight of Sousuke across the hall on the other side of the pool, talking to a group of people, and understood in his mind that Rin was alone.

 _Not that I care._

Rin's expression faltered when he saw Makoto blatantly ignoring him, but he quickly perked back up to smile at his teammates, not wanting them to suspect anything.

When the attention from his teammates finally dissipated and they began to spread out and do their own thing, Rin walked away to set his things down on the bench at the side of the hall. He stole a glance behind him at Makoto, who was now rotating his arm, his body faced away from Rin although he was nearby.

" _Tch_."

Rin snapped his head back abruptly to look at his bag, an angry heat filling his chest. Expletives were being flung around in his head, directed at nobody in particular— _I didn't do anything to deserve this kind of treatment_. Makoto was his friend—in fact, Rin wouldn't call it a stretch to claim that the guy was his good friend. Swimming in the same team, being in the same class and most importantly—both of them being equally close to Haruka made them very close-knit friends. It was only after rumours had begun to spread about potential candidates for future captain that Makoto had begun to act weirdly around Rin.

Makoto's behavior changed in small and subtle ways—it started with him shrugging off Rin's arm a little too soon when it was slung around his shoulder, then he was gradually speaking less and less to Rin. One day seemingly out of the blue, he stopped spending time with Rin altogether, choosing to eat at a different table during recess and swim with a different group during swimming practice. Rin had been confused, hurt, and ready to confront Makoto and apologize for _whatever_ he did wrong, because he genuinely treasured the companionship Makoto provided—but when he had tried approaching Makoto, the olive-haired boy had shot him a guarded look before walking away, losing himself in the crowd, leaving Rin standing where he was.

The flashbacks stung, and had Rin going from gently sifting through his bag to rummaging through his things, making a mess of his books and stationary inside—only sobering up enough to make sure Haru's _saba_ _onigiri_ wouldn't get squished out of shape by his unrefined movements. But the thought of Haruka only riled him up more.

Haru and Makoto was _dating_. Even after Makoto had stopped spending time with Rin, he acted no different around Haru—still taking the train every damn day after practice to study with Haru at his house. Hell, having spent so much time with Haru, Makoto probably knew more about Haru than Rin did at this point. Rin and Haru were close, but Makoto and Haru were _closer_. Rin's chest held a stinging that felt like a freshly inflicted cut.

Once he pulled them out, Rin gripped his swim gear tightly in his hand, the frustration that was building up inside him beginning to seep out. He zipped up his bag in one swift movement, ready to make his way to the changing rooms when he heard a sudden buzzing noise, indicating a ringing cellphone. He sighed irritably, reaching into his bag to fish out his phone. But when he had it in his hands, he realized that his phone was still in his palm. The sound of faint humming that hadn't ceased drew his eyes to the many other bags arranged askew on the bench, when a familiar dolphin keychain hanging on one of the straps caught his eye.

Rin noticed a shadow on the wall getting larger as the person grew closer. Suddenly, Makoto was standing next to him. Rin lowered his head and returned his phone to a pocket in his bag, unwilling to acknowledge the olive-haired boy.

 _Two can play at that game._

He heard the ripping sound of Velcro pulling apart, then heard the click of a cellphone screen flipping up.

"Oh, Haru."

Rin felt his breath catch in his throat. He grit his teeth, white-knuckling his goggles in his hand.

Makoto seemed to notice Rin tensing up, because he quickly made his way past Rin and out of the entrance to speak to his boyfriend in private. In his haste, Makoto brushed shoulders with Rin by accident—sending a funny shiver down the red-head's spine. He could hear Makoto's voice dropping to a whisper, and it got harder and harder to make the words out once he walked a distance away.

"..You never like calling, is something the matter?.."

Rin aggressively rubbed the spot where Makoto's arm had touched his, almost as though he could erase Makoto's touch from his skin. Rin's face was shadowed, the voice in his head a toxic hiss.

 _I don_ _'_ _t even want you to touch me._

" _What_?"

From behind him, Makoto's voice was suddenly loud and high-strung. Rin spun around and looked directly at Makoto—for the first time in a long time, although the olive-haired boy didn't look up to meet his gaze. Makoto had a troubled look on his face, which looked uncharacteristically wrong on him. He had his phone pressed up to his ear, and his stance had grown rigid all of a sudden.

"I'm coming over right now."

Rin felt an uneasy feeling settle in his stomach.

Makoto ran over to Mikoshiba. They shared a brief conversation too far away for Rin to hear, Makoto's body language showing his impatience as he struggled to explain his situation to Mikoshiba in as few words as possible. Mikoshiba was frowning slightly, looking perturbed about the whole thing, but he nodded his understanding to Makoto, and told him to leave. After a quick bow, Makoto burst out of the doors, and Rin could see his silhouette zip past through the windows. He swallowed, his heart pounding in his chest. His mind was scrambling, thinking of all the possible scenarios that would result in Haruka needing to actually call someone for help—and none of them spelled out anything good. Rin felt himself panicking.

 _Haru.. I should call Haru._

Rin loosened his tight grip around his phone, using a thumb to flip the screen open. He scrolled quickly through his contacts, and when he found Haru's number he pressed call. He slowly lifted the phone to his ear, his breath shaky as he exhaled.

 _Haru's okay. Haru_ _'_ _s okay. He_ _'_ _s totally fine._

Rin kept assuring himself, repeating the phrase over and over in his head in an attempt to quell his pounding heart. But it didn't work—his heart was beating so strongly he could feel it pulsing all the way up in his throat. Rin's free hand was resting on his waist, clutching for support.

Every ring that passed felt like they were hours apart. After the fifth ring, the call finally connected. Rin waited for Haruka to greet him, straining his ears—but there was only silence on the other line.

 _He_ _'_ _s okay. Haru's okay. Haru's okay._

"Haru?" Rin said cautiously after a few seconds had passed. After a bout of silence, there was the sound of someone shifting in between sheets, and a quiet groan. Rin's mouth went dry. Haruka _never_ groaned—unless he was grumbling about not being allowed to swim.

"…Rin?" Haru's voice drawled out. He sounded tired. Rin felt some form of relief from just hearing Haru speak. _At least he can talk._

Rin was still tense, however, as his other hand left his waist and curled into a fist.

"Are you okay? Did something happen? Where are you, Haru?"

Haru groaned again from across the line, this time his groan was sharper—as though he was in discomfort. When he next spoke, his voice was even fainter.

"..The hospital."

Rin could have sworn his heart stopped beating.

 _Haru's not okay._

* * *

Chapter 3 is coming soon! Stay tuned :*


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